USF Bike America

Tampa, Fla. (May 8, 2013) - Kiersten Downs is a veteran, activist and athlete and her passion for encouraging and inspiring fellow student veterans is a powerful force in her next mission. Pedaling her road bike across the country, from San Francisco to Washington D.C., is a momentous effort to support the veteran transition from military to university life.

Downs' focus with her Bike America student veterans ride for education is to raise awareness and funding for the national nonprofit Student Veterans of America which is a coalition of over 800 peer run student organizations across the country, on campuses all across the US.

According to Downs, "the importance of these peer run organizations is they can really be used as vehicles of social change at the university setting from the ground up. These are students coming together with a unified voice to accomplish goals that they've set, university wide."

Through Bike America, Downs plans to ride more than 3,800 miles from San Francisco to Washington D.C., linking up with different cycle groups from Student Veterans of America across the country, completing her journey at the headquarters of Student Veterans of America.